HYDERABAD: The Hepatitis is claiming around 0.12 million lives every year in Pakistan and if the authorities concerned failed to initiate sincere efforts, the numbers of death could further raise to alarming level.
Talking to APP here on Monday, Eminent physician at Liaqat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, Dr. Nadeem Anwar Khan said that awareness to masses about precautionary measures against disease could reduce the numbers of hepatitis patients in the country particularly in Sindh where the disease was spreading at a rapid pace mainly in rural parts.
Hepatitis is treatable disease but lack of awareness and recklessness at the part of a majority of the population thousands of deaths were occurring in the country, Dr. Nadeem khan said and informed that spread of the deadly disease could be prevented by adopting precautionary measures particularly avoiding the used shaving blades, razors, and make-up kits of beauty parlors, unsafe water, unhygienic food, unchecked blood transfusion and illegitimate relations.
Dr. Nadeem further said that it was feared that three million patients in Pakistan were suffering from severe progressive hepatitis-C, which leads to liver failure.
He said that there was also an alarmingly high incidence of liver cancer in Pakistan and it was likely to be the most common cancer in the country.
He said controlling the diseases is essential therefore; maximum awareness should be created among the people against these diseases. He urged the people to follow principle of "prevention is better than cure" for protecting themselves from diseases.
He said the government was spending billions of rupees on the treatment of hepatitis patients despite limited resources; however creating awareness among the masses could help checking the increasing number of patients for which media particularly electronic media can play an important role.
Dr. Khan expressed grave concerns over quack doctors, who, according to him, were involved in spreading Hepatitis with wrong diagnosis and prescription. He termed it punishable offence on charges of playing with the live of the people.
He said that it was because of wrong treatment that number of the cases of Hepatitis-D has increased in Sindh. During the survey, the number of maximum cases of Hepatitis-B has found in upper Sindh while the rate of Hepatitis-C was seen higher in lower Sindh, he said.
Dr. Nadeem said that there were five main types of viral hepatitis- A, B, C, D and E. Symptoms of the liver problem can include jaundice, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, he said adding that Hepatitis E was common in some parts of the world including Pakistan and China.
Viral hepatitis was also the leading cause of liver cancer and liver cancer was the second biggest cancer killer, he told adding that as symptoms of viral hepatitis often go unnoticed therefore anyone who suspects of being exposed to the disease should get tested.
Dr. Khan said that besides lack of awareness among masses about hepatitis, those who were sensitized about the disease to some extent generally do not take it seriously in the beginning. They get worried only when the disease gone out of control and their liver stops functioning.
He said that in the past, medical science was aware about only two types of this ailment, Hepatitis A and B but now more dangerous types of this disease D, E and G have been discovered. Hepatitis B, C and D are more dangerous but they cannot harm without their combination with Hepatitis B, he explained.
Dr. Nadeem Khan informed that hepatitis C can be transmitted to other persons through blood infusion, used syringes, tattoos on
body, drugs, dental diseases and use of infected operates during surgery.
He said that hepatitis do not spread by touching the patients. We should encourage such patients convincing them that timely treatment is very necessary to survive. He said that there was a need to educate media men, religious scholars, elected representatives and health workers about these problems.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2016
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